Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rescue deal
notwithstanding, bookstore chain Barnes & Noble, Inc.(NYSE:BKS) has not
been able to arrest the decline in its financials.
April 30 was the day when the Redmond-based software
giant made its offer to buy a stake in the firm and that day shares of Barnes
& Noble had soared more than 50 percent to record highs.
However uncertainty over a clear-cut strategy for the
partnership, dwindling sales of printed books and sluggish revenue growth have
all combined to push America’s largest bookstore chain near the brink of
collapse.
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Analysis on BKS Here
In tablets and e-book readers segment the company is
facing competition from the Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire. Last
week BKS was forced to cut the prices of its Nook range of tablet e-readers in
order to keep up with the competition in the market.
BKS' Nook Color in 2010 was favourably received as a
cheaper alternative to the iPad at that time. However Amazon's Kindle Fire that
arrived a year later stole its thunder and now Google's Nexus is further
undermining its market share.
Since April this year, the shares in the company have
fallen more than 40 percent as it became clear that even with Microsoft's
considerable clout in mobile computing and the resources at its disposal, the
company would not be able to make much headway.
The mobile environment is changing fast and only those
who are the leaders or are able to keep innovating have been able to survive.
Those who are following the changes, inevitably find themselves left far behind
as yet another new innovation come to the market.
The threat of a smaller and cheaper iPad (the iPad
Mini) from Apple is not good news for BKS.
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